WWE SmackDown Results: Biggest Winners, Losers and Moments from September 5

WWE Creative continued its lazy week with an episode of SmackDown that meant absolutely nothing in the long run, merely serving as a placeholder until the company intensifies its build to Night of Champions.

The show was headlined by another huge multi-man tag match, a booking choice that even Triple H mocked while announcing it. Sure, the match was a quality bout featuring some of the biggest stars in the business, but that doesn't make it any less repetitive or uninteresting.

The Bella Twins' introduction into the Divas Championship picture continued, ensuring that the title bout at the September 21 pay-per-view will be of a lesser quality than that of the above-average bout between Paige and AJ Lee at SummerSlam.

No matter how dissatisfying the show may have been or how lethargically booked it was, some Superstars still managed to leave an impression, good or bad, and pick up some momentum heading into Night of Champions.

Who? Take a look for yourself.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Don't look now, but Dolph Ziggler is winning matches. Like, for real.

Friday night, he scored a big win over Cesaro in a non-title match and continued to build up a head of steam heading into an Intercontinental Championship defense against The Miz on September 21.

Ziggler has enjoyed a career rejuvenation since winning the title at SummerSlam and has seen his television time increase. For a man who suffered from lackluster booking and a lengthy losing streak heading into the year, he has continued to work hard and never lost confidence in his ability.

He has delivered consistently great performances, and as a result the people have continued to support him. It has all paid off in the form of a renewed push and some well-deserved time in the spotlight.

Loser: Cesaro

The Swiss Superman has been on a downward spiral in recent months, and Friday night was simply the latest chapter in a cautionary tale. Despite being pushed as strong as possible in the weeks and months immediately following WrestleMania, Cesaro became a victim of uneven booking that ultimately served as his downfall.

Despite his recent defeat of Rob Van Dam to earn a shot at Sheamus' United States Championship at Night of Champions, the unlikelihood of the strong man capturing the title was never more evident than in this week's SmackDown when he lost to Ziggler.

The defeat killed his credibility as a top contender to the U.S. title while also harming the legitimacy of said championship. WWE Creative made it crystal clear that the U.S. Championship is not of the same importance as the intercontinental title and, worse yet, that No. 1 contender Cesaro is even further down the totem pole.

Winner: Nikki Bella

Though she turned in an awful acting performance Monday night on Raw, the smoking-hot twin sister of Brie emerged from SmackDown a winner, despite not having an actual match, thanks to her placement in the Divas Championship match at Night of Champions.

Nikki has done her best to make the most of the opportunity given to her thus far and is at least entertaining. She will never be mistaken for Meryl Streep or Jessica Chastain, but she is immensely unlikable and seems to excel in her role as a heel. 

Whether she can back up the recent increase in television exposure with a solid performance on September 21 is something we will have to wait to see.

Losers: The Fans

Fans deserve a better show than what they got Friday night from WWE. Sure, there was nothing inherently wrong with any of the wrestling. In fact, the men and women looked to be working hard, and the in-ring product itself was hardly awful.

With that said, writing a show that is as meaningless as this week's SmackDown is an insult to the Superstars and Divas who are putting their safety and well-being on the line on a nightly basis, as well as fans who are taking time out of their schedules to support the company by watching the programming. They deserve to have their faith and loyalty rewarded.

Friday's show was a way to steal money and ratings from fans who enjoy professional wrestling. Nothing more, nothing less.